In September 2023, an employee of Arrow Reliance, Inc. (doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) assured a consumer that Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats (Lot 9830, manufactured on Jul 19, 2023), was “fine,” even though the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had advised the public the month before that the batch in question was contaminated with Salmonella.
The consumer contacted the company after their cat was diagnosed with a Salmonella infection, according to documents obtained by eFoodAlert in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The consumer discarded the unused portions of the cat food and on September 14, 2023, filed a Pet Food Report with the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
In response to a separate complaint, filed a few days earlier, the FDA collected an unused portion of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selection Chicken Recipe for Cats (Lot code unknown) from the home of a consumer in a different state. The consumer reported that all four of their cats developed gastrointestinal problems after having consumed the product.
The FDA lab found two different Salmonella serotypes (Typhimurium and Hadar) in the sample.
Company aware of contamination
In August 2023, the FDA conducted the latest in a series of investigations into conditions at the Darwin’s Tukwila (Washington State) manufacturing facility.
On August 11, 2023, at the completion of their inspection, FDA investigators presented the company’s owner, Gary Tashjian, with a list of outstanding issues (FDA Form 483, Inspectional Observations). These observations included:
- The detection of Salmonella in three different products, manufactured on June 13, June 28, and July 19, 2023.
- Use of an unvalidated process as a preventative control for pathogens in the products over a four-month time span.
- Lack of documentation that the preventative control process was carried out.
When the company declined to recall the three Salmonella-positive product batches, the FDA issued an Advisory to pet owners, cautioning them to avoid feeding the potentially hazardous batches to their pets.
In a written response to the list of observations, the company asserted (not for the first time) that it was a “…Retail Food Establishment and therefore … not subject to the provisions in the Food Safety Modernization Act which require a food safety plan and preventive controls.”
Notwithstanding this assertion, the company arranged for an independent lab to test retained samples from the implicated products, and reported that their lab found “only trace amounts” of Salmonella in just one of the batches identified by the FDA.
Darwin’s also claimed that the unvalidated process was a “temporary substitution” for its usual, validated process, was initiated as a result of an equipment failure, and that the company had since reverted to the validated process.
Finally, the company reported that it had initiated proper documentation of its preventative control process in response to the FDA’s final observation.
Fraught history
The relationship between Arrow Reliance (Darwin’s) and the FDA has been fraught with discord and disputes almost since the initial inspection of the company’s facilities in 2016. The story is told in some detail in TOXIC: From Factory To Food Bowl, Pet Food Is a Risky Business. More recent chapters in the evolution of Darwin’s relationship with the FDA can be found by entering “Darwin” in the eFoodAlert search box at the top of the page (right hand side).
Do your part to support pet food safety
The FDA relies heavily on reports from consumers and veterinarians to highlight possible pet food safety issues. If you suspect that a pet food or pet treat has caused your furry or feathered companion to become ill, please report your concerns to the FDA.
Pet owners can report suspected illness to FDA electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. It’s most helpful if you work with your veterinarian to submit a pet’s medical records as part of the report. For an explanation of the information and level of detail that would be helpful to include in a complaint to FDA, please see How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.
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